Indonesia - Country Strategy

1. Overview
2. Country Strategy
3. Priorities
4. Key Program Managers
5. Current Projects
6. Concluded Projects
7. Achievements
8. Relevant Publications
9. Country News and Stories
10. Project Locations
11. Country Office
12. Country Portfolio
13. AusAid and Other Briefs
14. Fellowship Statistics

Country Strategy

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research's (ACIAR) Indonesia program emphasises the application of agricultural policy, agribusiness and technical research and development (R&D) to support economic growth from agriculture, forestry and fisheries in six provinces of eastern Indonesia and in parts of Java and Sumatra. The program will contribute to increasing farmers' incomes in two ways - through research that increases crop, livestock and aquaculture productivity; and through policy and technical research that fosters the development of integrated agribusinesses by focusing on high-value commodities for which there is strong market demand. Involvement in the Smallholder Agribusiness Development Initiative (SADI), which contributes about one-quarter of the project budget in 2008-09, has wider implications in integrating adaptive research and transformation of the research system with other partners who focus on agribusiness and community development at the subdistrict level. It is expected that a second phase of SADI will be designed and implemented during 2009-10.

In addition to supporting research on productivity, ACIAR partnerships will also address related pest and disease management, including shared biosecurity concerns, postharvest processing and market development issues. Protection of the resource base will be supported through research collaboration on aspects of crop and livestock biosecurity, and sustainable forestry and fisheries management; and through policy research on effective engagement in markets, particularly with respect to domestic agricultural policy settings. The focus will be on the development of well-functioning agricultural commodity markets in which clearer market signals will enable Indonesia to realise its comparative production and trade advantages. This will also help in directing technical research and extension to areas of higher returns. ACIAR and Indonesian partners involve next users such as extension groups, the private sector and non- government organisations (NGOs) during the development and implementation of projects. ACIAR will encourage linkages between the research agencies in agriculture, forestry and fisheries and the policy/implementation directorate-generals, and will support cooperation between central institutes and provincially based adaptive research agencies, planning authorities and local delivery organisations.

ACIAR's approach to capacity-building activities is to support the Indonesian Government's efforts to develop a demand-driven agricultural research system. This will be achieved through partnerships with major World Bank-funded programs that support strengthening of the Indonesian agricultural research sector and training on: research management; experimental design and analysis; economics/ social science for biophysical scientists; participatory agricultural research and extension skills; and agribusiness, including supply-chain management.